Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 02/01/2025 K-Gr 2—Readers of all ages will appreciate this story of family customs and connections. The book explores summer days spent at a grandma's house, engaging in activies from from baking to imaginative play. Readers will delight in the multitude of fun activities and special moments shared between grandmother and granddaughter. When things get a little noisy inside, they travel outdoors, where the girl in the story imagines a variety of pleasant nature sounds to fill an imaginary cup. Vibrant illustrations cover the pages with a mix of media that includes watercolor, gouache, acrylic, and digital forms. Readers will immerse themselves into the story, and whether it inspires them to take part in the fun at their own homes or just enjoy the display of activities in the book, they will come away with an appreciation of time spent with family. VERDICT A heartfelt story of time shared with family, this story will encourage imagination and exploration with elementary and primary aged children.—Tara Rollins - Copyright 2025 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Other - 01/27/2025 In lieu of attending summer camp each June, the young narrator of this intergenerational story, a Black child portrayed with beaded braids, spends two weeks at her grandparents’ home. Together with Grandma, she stitches sock puppets, bakes "Martian Cake," and hosts garden tea parties. When the noise from Grandpa’s bookshelf-building proves too much, Grandma indicates that she’s "thirsty for a cup of quiet," and child and grandmother venture outside and into a garden. There, Grandma tasks the narrator to fill an invisible cup with nature’s sounds-a bee’s buzz, a lizard’s steps, and more-each addition growing the fanciful mug’s size. When a summer storm approaches, forcing them back inside and toward Grandpa’s hammering, Grandma takes a big refreshing gulp from the cup: "Nature’s noise is peaceful, and I love that." Vibrant mixed-media illustrations from Johnson (Stand Up!) add visual verve to a tranquil intergenerational story from Grimes (A Walk in the Woods), whose warmth and sensory detail celebrates family, creativity, and mindful noticing. Ages 3-6. (Apr.) - Copyright 2025